Leave behind the stress and crowds of your busy life and enter a place of towering beauty and magnificent views, of quiet and solitude, of challenges and rewards. The Intermountain Region is such a place. Here you will find rugged mountains, open spaces, lush green valleys, rivers and lakes, a wide variety of wildlife, trees touching the sky, delicate wild flowers, many memories, and great fun. All you need is a wide variety of camping opportunities and the Intermountain Region has that. Enjoy Ebenezer campground with its mature, fruit bearing apricot trees in the Salmon National Forest (NF) and challenging hikes, vistas, and history of Red Canyon campground in Dixie NF. The campgrounds found in the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area (NRA) of Toiyabe NF just north of Las Vegas, NV and the Wasatch NF’s Tanners Flat, Albion Basin, and Spruces campgrounds, provide city dwellers a convenient place for a great mini-vacation. Mackinaw campground in Fishlake NF and Lucerne Valley campground in Ashley NF’s Flaming Gorge NRA are great destination campgrounds for a longer adventure. And then other campgrounds, like Bridger NF’s Green River Lake and Tin Cup in the Challis NF, offer solitude and challenges for any who venture to distant places. And there is more, so much more. The breathtaking beauty, open spaces, and the adventures awaiting visitors to the Intermountain Region mean one visit will probably lead to another and another and another.
Whether you camp in a tent or a recreational vehicle (RV), there are campgrounds in the U.S. National Forests to satisfy the needs of most campers. The U.S. National Forest Campground Guide - Intermountain Region, describes 337 developed campgrounds in 18 National Forests located in 5 states. All of the campgrounds were personally visited and researched by the authors of this Guide.
There are more than 50 items of information for each campground, narrative descriptions (including authors’ anecdotes), maps displaying the relative location of the campgrounds, and quick look-up tables to help in the selection of a campground. In addition, there are sidebars throughout the Guide containing useful information about camping, the forests, things to do, and the authors’ experiences.
The authors, Fred and Suzanne (Suzi) Dow, are a husband-wife team researching developed campgrounds located in National Forests throughout the United States. Starting in May 1996, the authors set off from Burke, VA in their 23-foot travel trailer and became full-time RVrs for almost three years. The authors now live in Bisbee, AZ for six months and are on the road the other six months a year visiting National Forests and researching campgrounds. As of September 8, 2003, the authors have visited 127 of the 157 National Forests and personally surveyed 1,882 campgrounds. They expect to complete their research during the year 2006.
Suzi Dow, a former Army brat, spent a good bit of her youth traveling across the United States. Those early years of endless miles in the back of the family station-wagon were not enough. During the summer of 1976, she and her two children spent three months tent camping on a meander from coast to coast. This time produced some of her favorite memories. Just before starting work on this Guide, Suzi earned her Master’s degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Now a resident of Bisbee, AZ, she enjoys her position as an Instructor at Cochise Community College, working on the latest edition of the Guides and getting acquainted with a stationary home, at least for six months of the year.
Fred Dow was raised in Newton Center, MA and graduated from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY in January 1959. Following college, Fred spent over three years in the Army as a Military Police Officer stationed in Garmisch, Germany. After his discharge, Fred was employed by Aetna Life and Casualty as a claims representative in Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. Later, Fred was employed by two R&D firms as the Director of Administration and Personnel in McLean, VA and Rockville, MD. During the summer of 1972, Fred started work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, DC, first as a program analyst, then finally as the Director of Office Automation in the Office of Housing. He retired from HUD in January 1996. Over the years, Fred has camped in tents and RVs both in the United States and Europe.
Campground Selection, Purpose of Publication and Research Method
The purpose of this publication is to provide factual information about campgrounds in National Forests that will assist campers in making selections for overnight camping. Only organized (developed) campgrounds with ten or more designated sites and accessible with at least the family sedan are included. Group campgrounds and dispersed sites are excluded. Personal observations and recommendations about the campgrounds, the National Forests and surrounding areas are included.
No attempt is made to classify or rate the development level of campgrounds. Rather, based on the campground descriptions provided, it is left up to the reader to make a campground selection that fits their needs and personal comfort zone. To help narrow the search for a campground, a Look-Up Table is provided for each National Forest. It is organized alphabetically by the city/town nearest to the campground.
With rare exceptions, we personally surveyed each campground described in this Guide. Except in a few instances, Forest Service staff at the Supervisor and Ranger District Offices were interviewed.
Management of National Forests Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service manages the National Forests. Under the direction of a Regional Office, management of each National Forest is accomplished by a Supervisor. Each National Forest is divided into Ranger Districts, managed by District Rangers. Addresses and telephone numbers for the Supervisor and Ranger District Offices are provided in the introduction for each forest contained in this Guide.
Campground Description and Configuration Organized campgrounds range from primitive to highly developed. Most of these primitive campgrounds include designated camping sites with at least one vault toilet. Fresh water may or may not be available. Campground development levels above primitive vary. They can include vault toilets and water to flush toilets with hot (or cold) showers to sites with recreational vehicle (RV) hookups. Of course, many of the campgrounds include beautiful lakes with provided swimming beaches, fishing, power boating, canoeing, etc. These recreational facilities also contribute to the development level of the campground. The camp sites described are classified as tent sites, RV sites or combined sites. The number of camping sites counted does not include designated host sites. Some campgrounds have sites with full or partial RV hookups. When describing water availability, the Guide includes whether the spigots are hand pumps or water pressure devices with or without threads. The latter information is to let RVers know whether there is a source for temporarily connecting a water hose to fill up the fresh water tank.
Seasons, Rates and Forest Information
Primarily because of budgetary constraints imposed by the Congress and weather, season and rates (fees) can change without notice. And, although not a common occurrence, campgrounds can be closed for renovation or natural disaster. Fees for campgrounds vary from free to $25 per day. Typical fees run from $5 to $12 per day. Normally, there is an additional charge for a second vehicle, which rarely includes a towable or tow vehicle/travel trailer combination. Many of the developed campgrounds are unattended and paying the fee is based on the honor system. Especially if reservations cannot or are not going to be made and it is close to the beginning or end of a season, it is a good idea to call the Ranger District Office to ensure the selected campground is open and confirm the fee. Both the Forest Supervisor and Ranger District Offices have literature available for the public about the Forest (including maps) and the surrounding areas; contact either office for additional information.
Reservations
The Forest Service, through a concessionaire, provides a national telephone reservation system (and website) for making camping site reservations at many of its campgrounds. If reservations are accepted for a given campground, the telephone number is displayed in the campground description. For the national system, the telephone call is toll-free; some credit cards are accepted and there is a charge for making a reservation. For a campground taking reservations, normally no more then sixty percent of the sites can be reserved. The remaining sites are first come, first serve.
Wheelchair Friendly Bathroom Facilities Many of the National Forest campgrounds provide bathrooms or vaults for individuals requiring assistance. However, the authors surveyed campgrounds with no such accessibility all the way up to state-of-the-art accessibility. In the information provided for each campground, “Wheelchair Friendly” is displayed with either “yes” or “no” indicated. “Yes” means there is at least one bathroom stall (or vault) with handrails and can be accessed by a wheelchair. “No” means there are no handrails or, although handrails are provided, in the authors’ judgment, barriers exist preventing access to the bathrooms. The authors do not attempt to ensure that accessible facilities are in compliance with state or federal law, regulations or guidelines.